According to Ian Rapoport, the Panthers are expected to place RT Daryl Williams on injured reserve at the start of the regular season with a knee injury. However, Rapoport adds that Williams is a candidate to return from I.R. for the second half of the season.
Williams suffered dislocated his right patella and tore his MCL a few weeks ago, but elected to not undergo surgery and is instead rehabbing the injury.
Williams is one of the Panthers’ best offensive linemen and could still be in line for a solid contract next year.
Regarding contract talks with the Panthers, Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer reported a few weeks ago that there’s a “monster gap” between the two parties at this point in time and a league source said it would be “shocking” if a contract extension happene before training camp.
Williams, 25, is a former fourth-round pick of the Panthers back in 2015. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $2.837 million contract and set to make a base salary of $705,000 for the 2018 season.
Williams will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
In 2017, Williams appeared in all 16 games for the Panthers and is rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 3 offensive tackle out of 81 qualifying players.
We have him featured in our Top 25 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.
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